The present invention relates to a computer peripheral device that allows a child user to engage in various drawing activities with a personal computer.
There are numerous computer software programs that are designed for use by small children to permit a child to engage in drawing and coloring projects. However, these software programs require the use of a computer mouse, and in some cases, a computer keyboard as well. Consequently, many child users, depending on their age and dexterity with a computer mouse and keyboard, cannot operate these drawing software programs and/or in many instances require the assistance of a parent or older child. This is a major drawback of these software programs.
At the other end of the spectrum there are drawing toys that do not connect to a computer but nevertheless allow a child to make drawings. These toys may have limited data storage capability to allow a user to make a drawing, save the drawing and subsequently retrieve a drawing for viewing or editing. However, these devices do not provide a user with the ability to transfer data for the drawing to a printer in order to print a hard-copy of the drawing. In addition, in many cases these devices do not allow for transferring the data for a drawing to an external device, such as a personal computer. Moreover, many of these toys require the use of a physical template that fits over a drawing surface to assist a user in making a drawing and/or engaging in an activity.
It is desirable to provide a drawing toy device that connects to a standard personal computer, but that is nevertheless easy to use for a small child so that the child can operate the device without assistance from a parent or older child.